JOE BURKE, the chairman of Dublin Port Company and close associate of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has lodged an appeal against a High Court order restricting him from involvement in the affairs of any company for five years unless certain funding conditions are met.
Lawyers for Mr Burke lodged the appeal with the Supreme Court on December 18th last within the 21-day period allowed for appeals.
Because of the backlog of cases before the Supreme Court, the case will not be heard for at least 18 months, according to court sources, and it is likely to be several years before a judgment is issued. This means that Mr Burke is unlikely to face political opposition from within Dublin Port Company until then to his continued chairmanship of the body; his second term as chairman runs until 2012.
Three councillors who also serve on the board of the company have said they will not raise the matter while it is still before the courts.
In the High Court last November, Mr Justice Kevin Feeney made the restriction order against Mr Burke but put a stay on it in the event of an appeal.
The order was sought by the liquidator of Mr Burke's building company, JH Burke Sons Ltd, which traded profitably from 1995 until 2004 when its main business of pub refurbishment was hit by the smoking ban.
The company went into liquidation in December 2006 with debts of some € 2.3 million.
Mr Justice Feeney ruled that a section 150 order was merited because Mr Burke had not acted responsibly, in clear breach of the Companies Act, in relation to aspects of the conduct of the affairs of the company. He noted it was accepted Mr Burke had acted honestly in the conduct of the company's affairs.
A restriction order, under section 150 of the Companies Act, restricts a person from involvement in the management of a company for five years unless that company meets certain capital funding conditions.
